The average UK university graduate has a lot to ponder as they leave their university for the professional world. Graduates need to concern themselves with everyday issues like where they are living, how they will get around the city, and paying off bills and utilities. However, the biggest concern for graduates is finding the right job to fit personal and professional goals. Indeed, many graduates begin worrying about this in their final year of university studies and try their best to do a job search while in school. In fields like sales and marketing, recruiters come to university campuses to recruit upcoming graduates for trainee or entry level positions. However, graduates need to seriously consider how every job they apply to meets their overall needs as a professional.

There is the obvious concern by graduates about paying the rent, bills, and student loan debt. This means that financial incentives and benefits are important to every graduate entering sales or marketing positions. Some sales positions offer a lower base pay with the promise that the commissions made off of sales to individual customers will more than make up for the base pay. However, there are plenty of sales jobs and graduate training programs where an exceptional candidate can earn plenty of money right away and have an opportunity at weekly, monthly, and quarterly bonuses. These considerations are incredibly important and shouldn’t be taken lightly by sales and marketing professionals.

In addition to financial concerns, a candidate for a sales or marketing position needs to ask themselves if they can see a particular job as part of their future. Marketing professionals with youth-oriented companies, like cell phone providers or retailers, may not feel that they can stay updated with the youth trends throughout their entire career. Sales people may want to take a job that allows them to move from the field into the office place as they progress throughout their career. In essence, flexibility and advancement options are critical for sales and marketing jobs.

Finally, sales and marketing professionals need to ask themselves if the product that a potential employer offers is something they can stand behind. A marketing graduate who does not like a particular brand of clothing may not want to enter that particular field. A sales graduate who has used a particular cell phone and cannot stand behind it should not be selling it. This is an important consideration as a graduate’s professional life is concerned with getting people to use these products.




By: Mark Doherty